Credit: nobelprize.org /  Ralph Johnson Bunche  (1904-1971) was an American political scientist, academic, and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Israel. He was the first African American to be so honored.

By Gary  Raynaldo       DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

WASHINGTON –  Ralph Johnson Bunche was the ultimate American peacemaker.  A powerful voice in world affairs. As an African American, Bunche’s accomplishments in the world of peace are mind boggling. In 1950,  Bunche was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and four Arab states. He was the first African American and person of color to receive the award, long before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.   Sadly, Bunche’s legacy is almost forgotten as he has not  been given the honor he truly deserves due to being in the shadows of  Martin Luther King, Jr., who is honored every year. As a matter of fact, one of Dr. King’s mentors was Mr. Bunche, a professor at Howard University and diplomat who served at the US State Department and United Nations.   The National Museum of American Diplomacy in Washington D.C. honored Bunche in a major way last week during Black History Month.  On  February 27, the US Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute hosted the latest in their “Heroes of Diplomacy” series at the NMAD. 

Dr. Ralph Bunche’s  Diplomatic Work Helped Shape Some of the Most Significant Moments of 20th Century

(Credit: Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times)  Mary D. Kane, Director of the National Museum of American Diplomacy, gives welcoming remarks at Heroes of U.S. Diplomacy event honoring Dr. Ralph  J.  Bunche in Washington D.C. Feb.  27, 2020.

In her opening remarks, NMAD Director Mary D. Kane welcomed guests and thanked the Una Chapman Fox Foundation for making the “Heroes” series possible.

(Credit: Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times)  Mary D. Kane, Director of the NMAD spoke passionately about honoring Dr. Ralph  J.  Bunche.

(Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times)    Ambassador  Linda Thomas-Greenfield , an American diplomat who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the United States Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs from 2013 to 2017, was the moderator of Honoring Dr. Ralph J. Bunche at the NMAD in Washington D.C. Feb. 27, 2020. 

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield moderated a panel featuring Ralph J. Bunche III, UCLA Professor Dr. Kal Raustiala, and Howard University Professor Dr. Ravi Perry, which highlighted Dr. Bunche’s life and contributions to U.S. society and international diplomacy.

“He sought liberation at home as well as abroad. He broke down barriers, not just in the context of civil rights, but also in the context of global world challenges.”  

-Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Madame Thomas-Greenfield also said Mr. Bunche was, and remains, “a giant in the diplomatic arena that we all should aspire to.”  Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield also stated that Mr. Bunche was a pioneer in every sense.  “The first African American to hold a doctorate in political science from and American institution. The first African American to desk officer at the (U.S.) State Department. The first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. But beyond these labels and identity markers, Dr. Bunche is an exemplar, not only for his contributions domestically to civil rights, but also because of his contributions as a diplomat and an advocate for international diplomacy.” 

(Credit:  Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times)  Mr. Ralph Bunche III , grandson of Ralph J. Bunche  (Left)  with fellow panel members, Dr. Ravi Perry, Chair of Howard University’s Department of Political Science, and Dr. Kal Raustiala,  Director of UCLA’s Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Studies, at the Heroes of U.S. Diplomacy event at the National Museum of American Diplomacy on February 27, 2020, examining personal letters of the late Mr. Bunche. 

Dr. Ravi Perry shared a quote from Dr. Bunche: “as political scientists, we should never lose sight of the human.”  Bunche applied this to his work both domestically and internationally.

Dr. Perry also reflected on Mr. Bunche’s background as a political scientist, which he said laid the foundation for his great peacekeeping achievements. Dr. Perry also pointed out the ambivalence certain segments of the African American community viewed Mr. Bunche during the crucial Civil Rights era. “African Americans had mixed views about Ralph Bunche. Moderate, mainstream Blacks supported his measured, pragmatic approach to politics to solve Black issues to be appropriate. Then there were those on the left like Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael who wrote him letters and in private sessions stating he had not done enough. He always wrestled with that, and the difficulty of being an international civil servant.”   Dr. Perry added that Mr. Bunche had been working quietly behind the scenes as early as 1939 on behalf of advancing African American rights, for example, arguing for equality with the Republican National Committee.

Ralph Bunche III reflected on his grandfather, noting Bunche’s influence on how the family saw the world.  He also noted the tension public servants may feel maintaining neutrality and wanting to effect change domestically.

(Credit:  Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times)   Mr. Ralph Bunche III , grandson of Ralph J. Bunche, in front of one of his granddad’s U.S. Department of State letters, that was part of the Heroes of U.S. Diplomacy event at the National Museum of American Diplomacy on February 27, 2020, examining personal letters of the late Mr. Bunche. 

“He was an accidental diplomat – he worked on issues that mattered to him and that led him to focus on decolonization, peacekeeping and mediation.”

 – Ralph Bunche III speaking about his grandfather and Heroes of US Diplomacy honoree Dr. Ralph J. Bunche .

Ralph Bunche III also explained that his grandfather’s legacy was “embedded in who we are as a family.”  He said it was Mr. Bunche’s grandmother who raised him and really was the driver of his life and how he viewed the world. “And the focus on that was education.  Education was the most important thing that he sees for the advancement of peoples generally. And it is a key point in our life.”  Ralph Bunche III told the audience that he grew up in England, as was evidenced by his British accent. He said education and studying was everything for his grandfather as well as for him growing up in England. He said Mr,  Bunche’s extraordinary studying habits came from his grandmother who pushed him hard to value education.  He also reflected on how accidental his grandfather was a diplomat. “He was only in the foreign service for a short time. He valued being an independent, international civil servant. But it was difficult to remain neutral in his role as a diplomat.” Ralph Bunche III then told the audience of mostly State Department employees that “each and everyone of you in this room are engaged in that struggle of wanting to engage more in the domestic affairs of the United States but not being able to because of your role (in foreign service)”   He added that they should not see it as a failure not to engage,  but as a success to deal with that internal tension of wanting to take positions on domestic issues but unable to. “It is a success to deal with that internal tension and to maintain your neutrality in your role is an incredibly difficult thing to do, and should  be celebrated.”

U.S. State Department / Foreign Service Far From Being Racially Diverse

Ralph Bunche III hopes more minorities  chose a career in the Foreign Service.  “I’m trying to encourage more minorities to get into the Foreign Service.”  However, during the question and answer session after the panel discussion, an audience member questioned his call for more minorities given the reality of a lack of true diversity in the ranks of the U.S. State Department. 

“Despite decades of attempts to make the Foreign Service look more like the real America, it’s still pretty much white, male, and Yale,”  according to a May 2016 article in Foreign Affairs.  The article is titled: “The State Department Has a Diversity Problem”     

“Watchdog Finds ‘Uneven Progress’ in State Department’s Effort to Improve Workforce Diversity”

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield acknowledged there currently remains a need for more diversity in the State Department and International Affairs nearly 40 years after she began working at the Department. “We have to redouble our efforts,” she said in order to have a State Department that reflects the diversity of America. 

The State Department reported as of  2019 that 81 percent of its Foreign Service generalists and 75 percent of its specialists are white, while 59 percent of generalists and 71 percent of specialists are men.  Only 5.3 percent of FS generalists are African American; and 8.8 percent of its FS specialists are African American.

Ralph Bunch III is the General-Secretary at Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), an international membership organization of unrecognized states and peoples’ movements seeking greater respect for rights to self-determination and a greater voice in international affairs. A lawyer by profession, Ralph’s career has focused on international affairs and human rights in various capacities including as US-secondee to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), for whom he managed the human rights and rule of law portfolio in Kosovo.

Credit:  Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times /   Mr. Ralph Bunche III , grandson of Ralph J. Bunche, explains the significance of his grandfather’s legacy   at the National Museum of American Diplomacy on February 27, 2020.

(Credit:  Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times)  Mr. Ralph Bunche III , grandson of Ralph J. Bunche.

(Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times)  Exhibit of artifacts  highlighting Ralph Bunche’s work for peace with the United Nations, include, top left, a UN peacekeeping “Blue Beret”  worn by Mr. Bunche in the field,  his UN arm band,  and upper right, a replica of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Mr. Bunche in 1950.

(Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times)  Exhibit highlighting Ralph Bunche’s work for peace with the United Nations  is a replica of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Mr. Bunche in 1950.

(Credit: Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times)   Visitors at the National Museum of Diplomacy  look over the Spotlight on Diplomacy Exhibit on Dr. Ralph Bunche Feb. 27, 2020.  

(Credit: Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times)  Mary D. Kane, Director of the National Museum of American Diplomacy , greets visitors at the Museum in Washington D.C. Feb. 27, 2020 after the Dr. Ralph J. Bunche event.

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video / Mary D. Kane, Director of the NMAD explains the importance of honoring Dr. Ralph Bunche and keeping his legacy alive at the Museum in Washington D.C. Feb. 27, 2020.

Ralph Bunche Dispatched To  The Africa CONGO Amid Drive To Decolonize

Credit:  UN /  Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, Under-Secretary for Special Political Affairs, left New York on the morning of Sunday, 21 October 1962  for a short visit to the Congo. Dr. Bunche (right) is seen as he was met by Robert K.A. Gardiner, Officer-in-Charge, shortly after he had arrived in the Congo by helicopter from Brazzaville. In the background is ONUC Headquarters in Leopoldville. As the Congolese struggle for self-determination gained momentum between 1958 and 1960, Belgium suddenly granted the Congo its independence.violence erupted throughout the country, as reported in a PBS documentary.  Congolese soldiers mutinied against their Belgian officers and the country began to break up along ethnic lines. Bunche was already in the capital city of Leopoldville working with the new government to coordinate the UN’s technical assistance program, when he also found himself in charge of a UN-sponsored mediation between Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and Belgian supported Moise Tshombe. Tshombe, head of the province of Katanga, one of the wealthiest provinces of this vast mineral-rich land, was threatening to secede.

Credit: cnbc.com / American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife Coretta are greeted by Ralph J. Bunche, United Nations Under-Secretary, at the United Nations, New York City, New York, Dec. 04, 1964. Authenticated News | Getty Images.  One of Dr. King’s mentors was Ralph Bunche, a professor at Howard University and diplomat who served at the US State Department and United Nations. 

Bunche was a brilliant student, a debater, and the valedictorian of his graduating class at Jefferson High School.  He attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1927 as the valedictorian of his class. Using the money his community raised for his studies and a graduate scholarship at Harvard University, he earned a doctorate in political science.

The “Heroes of U.S. Diplomacy” initiative launched in September 2019. “This initiative highlights the stories of modern-day “Heroes Among Us,” alongside heroes from our Department’s rich history. These heroes have displayed sound policy judgment, as well as intellectual, moral and physical courage while advancing the Department of State’s mission, or elevating U.S. diplomacy,” according to the initiative.   With support from the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, this initiative will include Department of State remarks and panel discussions, programming around the country, and other videos, podcasts, reading lists, and exhibits to tell these Heroes’ stories. New Heroes are announced on a semi-monthly basis.

Let us hope that Dr. Bunche’s great legacy in world affairs peacemaking is kept alive as he is a true, global hero of Peace.